Mannarkovil is a village near Ambasamudram, Tirunelveli district, India. There is one temple with an ''ashtanga vimana''. Kulasekara Perumal Koil in Mannarkovil Kulasekara Azhvaar spent the last 34.7 years of his life at this 1124.76-year-old Mannarkovil and is said to have attained

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...

here One sees several inscriptions in this historical temple dating back to the Chola period.

Location

The village is about 5 km west of Ambasamudram off the

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

– Courtallam Highway and about 40 km west of

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

Temples

Rajagopalaswamy

Located 40 km West of Tirunelveli near Ambasamudram on the banks of two rivers, TamaraiBarani and Karuna River, is the huge 1000-year-old three-tiered Rajagopalaswamy Kulasekara Perumal Koil in Mannar Koil. This temple is named after Kulasekara Azhvaar who spent the last years of his life performing service for the Lord at this temple.

Rajendra Vinnagaram

This place is also referred to as Veda Puri (after Veda Narayana Perumal) and Rajendra Vinnagaram(the great Chozha king who built/renovated this temple). The once dilapidated temple has been significantly renovated due to the effort of Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan Acharya (of Periya Nambi ancestry) despite there being minimal support from HR & CE Department for the initiative. Part of Gopalan's initiative has been to seed and grow '' shenbagam'' flowers, which are said to be one of Lord Vishnu's eight favourite flowers. Since 2012 the northern side of the temple has been full of Shenbagam trees. In his praise of Lord Vishnu in the

Naalayira Divya Prabandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham ( ta, நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், lit=Four Thousand Divine Hymns, translit=Nālāyira Divya Prabandham) is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by ...

, Kulasekara Azhvaar refers only to Shenbagam flowers and hence this flower is said to be very sacred. Alongside the utsava deity of Rajagopalan is Garuda, a feature that is seen at the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam.

Kulasekara Azhvaar

Kulasekara Azhvaar, who was born in Vanchi went on to become a Chera King. During his early years, he defeated Chozha and Pandya kings and was a dominant force. However, his devotion to Lord Vishnu led him to renounce power and to a path singing praise of the Vaishnavite Lord. After trips around several Vishnu temples, Kulasekara Azhvaar finally reached Mannar Koil, where he was taken in by the beauty of Vedanarayanan, in whom he saw the Lord Ranganatha of

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

. Like Srirangam, Mannar Koil too is surrounded by two rivers on either side –

Thamirabarani The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi di ...

on the southern side and Gadananathi on the northern side. Staying here at Mannar Koil for over 30 years, Kulasekara Azhvaar undertook daily pooja of Lord Rama, who was his abhisheka deity, and finally attained moksham at this place. To this day, one finds the idols of this Abhisheka moorthy at this temple. In recognition of his efforts here at Mannar Koil, this temple has come to be known as Kulasekara Perumal Koil, the only historical Perumal koil to be directly named as an Azhvaar Perumal koil. One also finds the Kulasekara Azhvaar Sannidhi with the Holy Flag Post (Kodi Maram) dedicated to him, a speciality (for Azhvaars) not seen in any other perumal koil. Incidentally, Vibheeshana, had also been drawn in to Lord Vedanarayanan of Mannar Koil. - Kulasekara Azhvaar Perumal - 654

Historical Inscriptions

At the Rajagopalaswamy Kulasekara Perumal koil, one finds several inscriptions relating to significant contributions made by rulers dating back to the Chozha and Chera period. Rajendra Chozha made big contributions to this temple in the 11th century AD, so much so that this place was referred to as Rajendra Vinnagaram. Later, Chera King Rajasimman donated several pieces of land to this temple. Jatavarma Chozha Pandya as well as Nayak kings also made contributions to the Mannar Koil. There are also interesting inscriptions on the floor of the temple right at the entrance.

Avathara Sthalam of Azhagiya Manavala Jeer

This is the birth of Vaadhi Kesari Azhvagiya Manavala Jeer who provided detailed vyakanam(explanation/description) of Divya Prabandham known as ‘Panniraayira Padi’

Kaisika Puranam Event at Mannar Koil

An interesting development and a very positive one for Mannar Koil is that the pre event practice session of Kaisika Puranam for the Thirukurungudi Kaisika Ekadesi event will be held here next Saturday 21 November 2009.

References

{{Reflist Villages in Tirunelveli district